The Kraków Philharmonic |
|
| Location | Kraków, Poland |
|---|---|
| Type | Concert hall |
| Genre(s) | Classical |
| Opened | 1940 |
| Capacity | 693 |
| Website | Kraków Philharmonic Official website |
The Kraków Philharmonic or the Cracow Philharmonic (Polish: Filharmonia Krakowska), is the primary concert hall in Kraków, Poland, named after the renown Polish composer and pianist Karol Szymanowski. It is the home of the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Kraków Philharmonic concert hall was designed by architect Józef Pokutynski and completed 1931.[1] It is one of the largest concert halls in Kraków. It consists of a main hall of 693 seats for orchestral performances, and two smaller venues, the Golden Hall and the Blue Hall, for chamber music concerts. Since March 2009, conductor Paweł Przytocki has been the Managing Director and Artistic Director of both, the Kraków Philharmonic and the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra.[2] Principal conductors and music directors of Kraków Philharmonic in the past include Tadeusz Strugała, and Gilbert Levine (1987–1993).[3] In 1996, a new 50-pipe pipe organ was installed in the hall, designed and built by the Johannes Klais Orgelbau of Bonn, a family run company specializing in large-scale projects across the globe.[2]
The first serious attempts to create a resident symphony orchestra in the city go back to the 18th century. The professional team was assembled only in 1909 under the management of Feliks Nowowiejski. The orchestra performed regularly until the Invasion of Poland in September 1939. Since its creation under the foreign Partitions of Poland, and throughout the interwar period, the Kraków Philharmonic was home to the Polish Professional Musicians Trade Union for performers working around the city, including in cafés and in the silent movie theatres. The Union's goal was to protect the welfare of its members as well as the artistic level of their performances, but its main contribution to the local music culture was the organising of symphony concerts.[1]
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Philharmonie_Orchestra_in_Krak%C3%B3w Philharmonie Orchestra in Kraków] at Wikimedia Commons